Harbour View Hotel, Sydney

18 Lower Fort Street, The Rocks, Sydney
Review and contributions: Burger Bot, Joe Blogs, Mr C J Miller, Danny Sammovich
Review time: Pub lunch

"Under the Bridge In Town"

 

If the Red Hot Chili Peppers had been in Sydney at the beginning of the 90's, Their 'Blood Sugar Sex Magik' album, and more specifically, the second single from that album, 'Under The Bridge', might have been a bit different. It may have been more about beers, burgers and good times than about loneliness and drug use. The Harbour View Hotel is indeed Under The Bridge and it does happen to share a few other details with the RHCP song. Grab a beer and read on...

Towards the end of Walsh Bay is where you'll find the Harbour View. Back in ye ol day a Harbour View Hotel built around 1843 was to be found where the pylon of the Harbour Bridge stands today; the hotel demolished to make way for the international icon. The new and current HVH was built in the mid 20's, providing a popular public piss-up parlour for the Bridge workers.

Harbour View Hotel - Under The Bridge

Now, back to the RHCP - sometimes when I feel I don't have a partner (or a friend, or anything to do), I like to head into the city I live in, the city of roaches (lonely as I am), together we drink at the Harbour View. You get where we're going with this. The pub knows who I am and she sees my good deeds and kisses me with tasty tasty beer and a real top burger, now that is not a lie.

Front bar

The HVH boasts some seating out front on the footpath, where you can watch the Bridge climbers snake their way up the framework of that big steel beast, or you can cozy-up inside at the bar, by the piano and bookcase, or, where Anthony Kiedis prefers, by the front windows, pondering 'peppers poetry.

Separate room for writing RHCP songs and kicking drug addiction after drug addiction

Up a staircase, and up again to level 2, around and around, you'll find a nice little balcony area and bar, overlooking the Bridge and, just, through all the other obstacles, Sydney Harbour. This is where RHCP bassist, Flea, likes to sip drinks in the sun and question whether teaming up with Thom Yorke is a good idea or not. On one of our first visits here we sat on low couches/bench seats and tucked into some tasty grub. On subsequent visits we have found this area to be quite busy (if you don't get in early) so we tried the ground floor main bar and footpath table settings on those occasions. All good.

Upstairs balcony area

Take me to the place I love, take me all the way.... to the bar. Cold beers are poured into glasses at approximately these prices - $6.50 drinks: Heineken, Becks; $6 drinks: Kosciuszko Pale Ale, Coopers Pale Ale, James Squires, Superdry; $4.50 brews: Boags Draught, Tooheys New. We picked up a couple of Kosci's but the one to note here is the base standard Boags Draught at a fantastic Sydney-city price of $4.50! It's hard to believe there's nobody out there, it's hard to believe that I'm all alone, in thinking that's a pretty good price ;)

The Harbour Burger. A good burger

For the food, with the handful of occasions we've been, we haven't been disappointed. The last couple of times has seen a couple of really tasty, well-enjoyed burgers. Burger Bot has even declared the Harbour Burger his third favourite burger of the reviews so far (after Harts Pub and Cricketers Arms). Biting into a Harbour Burger is pretty satisfying, I agree, with the meal consisting of a brioche bun, 100% wagyu beef pattie, bacon, cheese, lettuce, tomato relish, onion with a side of nommingly good chips. Danny Sammovich claimed the bacon on his burger was a bit cold on one occasion, although I think that might have been a one off and I reckon he was exaggerating a tad. We reckon if the Red Hot Chili Peppers enjoyed burgers, they'd like this one. $16. Yummy Good. Great chips.

Nom nom nom

On the down side, the music playing in the front bar on the times we've been in has been a bit on the poo-side of life, for our tastes anyway (a lot like some of the later RHCP albums). Bit of a shame. Makes Bot cranky.

Horse Sugar Sex Magik

Under the Bridge in town is where you'll find the Harbour View Hotel. There's no shooting up of drugs at the pub (one of the facts not in common with the song) but it is somewhere you could not get enough (with that yum burger and beer price). Sydney Pub List recommends the Harbour View Hotel. It's not a bad spot too. "I like the view and it seems like a pretty nice pub to me", said Mr Miller of the place. "A nice place for a beer on a sunny day for sure. Curry was pretty good too - lamb if I remember". Good food and well-priced beers helps to give the place the nod from us. We giving the Harbour View Hotel a 3/5 schooners. It was close to 3.5, if only the music in the bar was less shit and more like "Blood Sugar Sex Magik".

Oh, don't hold their website against them ;)  
- http://www.harbourview.com.au/